Speaking of Athens . . .

In front of the Erechthion, part of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece

Architecturally speaking, the city of Athens is confused.  This, to some, may be a strange statement considering Greece itself is often thought to be the birthplace of Western architectural thought.   However, after a three-week study abroad stint this past summer in Greece, I found that for every classical temple dedicated to Athena, there are 102 concrete highrises dedicated to billboards and x-rated video stores.  Yes, Athens seems to have lost its architectural way – something I wasn’t expecting from a major European city.  After all, it’s suppose to be Americans who are often all too ready to tear down historic structures and replace them with windowless, cinderblock boxes, not the Greeks.  And, I also thought Americans were the only ones to build  fast-food joints next to their historic churches.  I was wrong about that too. 

Don’t get me wrong; I’m in no way calling the city of Athens an architecturally ugly city.  Amid the concrete chaos, the city does have its gems; you just have to search a little harder to find them.  And there are gems.  Take for example the 1885 neoclassical Athens Academy. 

Athens Academy, 1885

As stunning as the building is (especially in person), it just so happens it’s sandwiched between nameless 20th-century office buildings. 

And even though many of the city’s modern structures have contributed to its graceless urban sprawl, not all of them are bad.  Hosting the 2004 Olympics greatly improved Athen’s infrastructure and insight on how exactly to incorporate a 21st-century building into a streetscape that also includes 4th-century ruins.  The glass-clad New Acropolis Museum, which unfortunately wasn’t yet open during my visit, serves as a perfect example.  Here’s a link to the museum’s new website: http://www.newacropolismuseum.gr/.  It offers some beautiful pictures of the building’s construction and the finished product. 

The sleek New Acropolis Museum sandwiched between Athen's urban sprawl and the Theatre of Dionysos

Even though Athens may be an architecturally confused, I still have hope for the city.  Besides, I don’t think you should ever give up architectural hope on the place that did, practically, birth the foundations of Western architecture.  I think Athens just needs a few more years to figure it out; after all, its only had 6,000 years of building time.